Mar. 31, 2014
|

President Obama on Opening Day in 2010. / Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

Enjoy Opening Day, baseball fans - but be warned, it won't be a national holiday any time soon.

The White House responded to a petition to declare Opening Day a national holiday by noting that Congress makes those kinds of the decisions, not presidents.

"While we are sympathetic to your pitch to make Opening Day a national holiday, it's a little outside our strike zone," wrote White House spokesman Josh Earnest on the "We The People" petition website.

Earnest said that "creating permanent federal holidays is traditionally the purview of Congress. So, it's up to the men and women on Capitol Hill to decide whether to swing at this pitch."

The White House will celebrate Opening Day on Tuesday with a ceremony honoring the Boston Red Sox, last year's World Series champions, Earnest wrote.

Earnest ended his response by indulging in the dreams of all baseball fans at the start of the season:

"Meanwhile, I'll spend that day visualizing what it would be like to welcome my 2014 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals to the White House. That is, after all, the best part of Opening Day: every team is tied for first place and poised to make a run at the Fall Classic."